My invention relates to horseshoes, and more particularly to horseshoes made of resilient material and re-enforced with metal inserts.
Those working with horses, especially horses bred for competition, are fimiliar with various attempts during the past 100 years to develop horseshoes made largely of different types of resilient materials in order to reduce the injuries to horse's legs due to the impact of their hooves, especially during races.
However, to date the use of horseshoes made mainly of various types of resilient material has been limited. The reason for this limited use is that until now all shoes containing resilient material put the resilient material only on the top or only on the bottom of a metal core and the metal toe grab on the front of the shoe was always in contact with the metal core and thus the shoe provided no shock absorbance at all.
Based upon over thirty years experience as a trainer and blacksmith with both thoroughbred and standard bred horses and a lot of experimentation with various materials and designs, I have invented a unique horseshoe which provides significant protection against injuries to all horses including racing, pacing, trotting and jumpers. My horseshoes have been tested on both tracks used for thoroughbreds and for standard bred horses (pacers and trotters) and the shoe wear as well as or better than standard metal shoes. Moreover, the cost of my new resilient shoes are not as expensive as some of the partially resilient shoes offered in the past.
Briefly, my resilient horseshoe is cast or molded from cyanaprene urethane or material of similar properties in the shape of a conventional metal horseshoe. The resilient shoe includes four metal inserts spaced apart from each other within the shoe to provide minimal shock to the horse's natural hoof from the surface of the track on which the horse is racing.
The first metal insert functions as a core to reinforce the urethane resilient shoe and is so shaped that the composite shoe can be shaped to the horse's foot but with the core having a cutout or indented portion at its front or toe position.
The metal core contains a plurality, preferably eight, nail holes so that my resilient shoe can be nailed to the horse's hoof in the same manner as conventional metal shoes.
The second and third metal inserts function to protect the two heel portions of the resilient shoe from excessive wear and each is shaped as an elongated flat plate lying above one of the two ends of the first insert with the upper face of each plate flush with the surface of the urethane shoe.
The fourth metal insert is a curved elongated plate called a toe grab which lies along the front or toe of the resilient shoe and projects outwardly from the resilient shoe. Since the toe grab is spaced or insulated from the horse's hoof by the body of resilient material, the shock taken by the toe grab as it strikes and digs into the surface of the track is cushioned by the resilient body of the shoe and thus the force transmitted to the hoof and leg of the horse is considerably lessened.